The Irish standard., 1887-11-26
MISS ELEANOR c. DONNELLY.
a Pen Portrait of Philadelphia's Gath
olic Poetess---The Gifted
Sister Of
THE sHAkESPEAREAN SCHOLAR
Happy Surroundings Of Her Philadelphia
Home The Adelail;e Ann Proctor
of America.
lBoston Republic.

lBoston Republic.
I Hon. Ignatius Donnelly, whose re-
cent endeayors to prove that Bacon anG
not Shakespeare was the author Of the
immortal plays which bear the iatter's
name, have won him SO much notorietv,
but whose literary ability was estab-
iished long before this, his latest under.
taking, is not the only member Of his
! family who has won distinction in the
field Of letters, though he enjoys, as far
as bis relatives are concerned, mon
opoly Of the peculiar subjects which he
has made his own. The Donnellys, it
may be here promised, are one of the
Oldest Catholic families of Philadelphia.
he father Of the present generation
was distinguished physician, whose
loyalty to his profession and devotion
to his patients cost him his life while
he was fighting against pestilence
which ravaged the City OF Brotharly
Love years ago. His name is sufficient
indication Of his Celtic nationality, ana
his fdelitv to the religion Of his ances-
tors need no attestation other than
what is afforded III the character Of lis
talented daughter. as that is shown in
her writings. which have won for their
author the title of tte Catholic poetess
Of America, and caused her to be COM
pared to that other Catholic songstress,
Adelaide Ann Proctor. Miss Eleanor
c. Donnelly, for that is the name Of
the subject of this brief sketch here
submitted to the readers of The Re-
public. livesin one Of those prim, sedate
aud comfortable looking houses that
characterize the lower portion of the
city of Philadelphia. These old-fash.
ioned residences. each one Of which
possesses some feature peculiarly its
own to distinguish it from it's neigh
bors, are 50 many memorials OF the days
when men built their houses without
any regard for outward display, but
with an eye solely fortheir own wants
and tileir individual comforts. The
characters of the builders are stamped,
as it were, on these edihceS, which con-
trast so strongly with the products OF
modern architecture. and all of which
strike the observer and attract the at
tent1on by the presentation of some od-
dity TO the gaze, such as walls Of diver
sified hues, polished brass knobs on
doors aud ratings, and the arch above
the broad stone chat stands before the
door beneath. Though but little re-
moved from the business section OF the
city, these residences, and the quarter
in which they are situated: are free
from gthe turmoil of trade and traffic,
and they speak Of rest and retirement.
two surroundings we'll calculated to in
spire cue who is disposed 10 woo the
muses.. Near by. above Spruce, on
Fourth street, stands Old St. Mary's
Church, while further en- towards Third
street, in Vikings alley, is located che
venerable pile dedicated to the honor Of
st. Joseph, over which the fathers Of
the Society of Jesus preside. This
whole locality is redolent with Catholic
memories, and hence, it is not strange
That Miss Donnelly, whose life has
been spent within its limits, should
have chosen Catholic themes for the
subjects Of her sweetest songs, and thas
deep religious spirit should pervade
all her prose writings. Surrounded by
her own. kin and happily situated so
that worldly cares claimed little OF her
attention. she has found ample leisure
to elaborate her poetic fancies and make
the loyeliness and gentleness Of her
character known to her readers. Let
it not be imagined, however, that our
poetess is q, dreamer Of dreams and q
singer of songs, however sweet those
may be, alone. Though naturally of a
delicate constitution, she finds time and
opportunity to do vast amount OF
charitable and pious labor, and she is
by no means always to be found at
home. For years she has been a member
of the choir of st. Joseph7s IS Church, to-
gether with her sisters, and her voice
has often been heard in other than her
own parish church, while her charita-
BILE work among the poor consumes no
little of her time. Miss Donnelly has
nothing of the proyerbial ssblue stock
ing'' about her. Of medium height,
she faces you with a pair Of bright Irish
eyes, full Of kindly expression, and
when she speaks the gentleness Of her
voice and the expressive intelligence @ OF
her face charm the listener no less than
than the ease Of her co,1vefsati ion and
the gracefu illness of her lang gllage. She5I
is neither shy nor a affected, and, listen !